Author: Garth Griswold

PHOENIX: BBR RETURNS TO GREATNESS, WOLFE WINS TCSP CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

The Champions have been Crowned for the 2024 Crown Jewel Racing Season, and what a year it has been. Two hundred sixty-seven days ago, the battle for the Championship began at the beaches of Daytona, and last night, the victor claimed their throne in the desert of Phoenix.

Championship night meant Crown Jewel Racing of 312 Laps around the mile-long Phoenix RACEWAY. Stephen Menke, Thomas Wolfe, Nic Vasquez, and Cory Mott were all racing to be crowned the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Champion.

Menke would set the tone in qualifying by capturing the pole by three-thousandths of a second over Thomas Wolfe. Nic Vasquez would qualify 9th, and Cory Mott would have to battle from the back starting in 23rd after making contact with the wall.

Menke led the field to the green flag, but Wolfe also also had a great jump off the start. Wolfe beat Menke back to the line and led the first lap. Most drivers were surprised to find a clean start since the Spring race had 24 cautions and raced 200 laps. But the racing would stay under the green flag until an incident involving Jim Mott and Garth Griswold would bring out the yellow flag on Lap 30. There would be four more cautions throughout the Stage, with the final one on Lap 59 with Thomas Wolfe getting the stage win and momentum heading into Stage 2.

Stage 2

Allen Phillips led the pack back to the green flag and led the race until Zack Saunders captured the lead on Lap 66. The first caution of Stage 2 came out on Lap 84 when Ben Lawson got loose through the dogleg on the front stretch. The field would get stacked back up. Zack Saunders was still leading, but all four playoff drivers who were hunting for the Championship were lined up behind him.

Wolfe would recapture the lead on Lap 96 from Saunders before a Championship Implication incident occurred on Lap 114. Menke would get loose going into one, slide up the track, and collide with Griswold and Stewart Harding Walker, who would make contact with Menke’s teammate and playoff driver Nic Vasquez. This incident would end Walker’s night, but the playoff drivers escaped without severe damage.

Cautions would breed more caution throughout Stage 2, with the significant incident occurring on Lap 169 when Vasquez would give a tap to Saunders’s back bumper, which caused him to snap into the outside wall. Vasquez’s teammate and team owner Stephen Menke couldn’t avoid Saunders, and they would collide just past the start-finish line. Menke’s guardian angel was with him last night as he again avoided serious damage.

Another significant incident on Lap 177 would take out a few non-playoff drivers on the front stretch, but the Stage would end on lap 184, and Nathaniel Campbell would lead the field to his first Stage win of the year.

To Pit or Not to Pit

Pit Strategy would become the key in the final phase of the race as green flag racing would resume one Lap 219 with 93 Laps to go. Wolfe would maintain the lead, but the strategy was coming into play behind him. Finishing the race on the last fuel stop would be a stretch as Wolfe, Griswold, Menke, and Tipton would do their best to stretch the run out as long as possible and try to make it to the end. Mott and Vasquez would pit, and the race was on to see if Mott and Vasquez could get back on the lead lap and catch Wolfe again before the checkered flag flew.

Mott needed to get around Oskar Jensen on Lap 277 behind Wolfe to get back on the lead lap. Mott would be on the outside of Jensen when Jensen would snap loose, and he and Mott would go wrecking into the wall. Mott’s Championship hunt was over just like that.

With Wolfe leading, Menke was behind Caleb Tipton and Griswold sitting in 4th, and Vasquez hunting the Wolfe in 5th with 31 laps to go. Wolfe would lead the field to the green for the final time; when the green flag waved, Wolfe would throw up the deuces, and he was gone. Wolfe would drive to the checkered flag with a four-second lead to win the 2024 Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Championship.

“I like to think I have a little talent, but really the secret to the sauce, is late night test runs, racing as much as I could, and just work that I have put in over the season that earned me this Championship.”

Thomas Wolfe, #94 Backroad Bandit Racing, Chevy

BBR Dominates

The Backroad Bandit Racing team would end the season on a high note, winning every race of the Championship Weekend, with Zack Saunders winning the VRS Truck Series Championship on Monday. Zack Saunders would also win the Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series race on Tuesday, but Stewart Harding Walker would win the Season Championship.

To conclude Championship night, Thomas Wolfe would bring the BBR Race Team back from the ashes the organization found themselves in at the halfway point of the season to find themselves on top of the Crown Jewel Racing League.

From the Admin Team: Thank you to the entire CJR Community, the team owners, the drivers, the broadcasters, all of our wonderful sponsors, for which we are so grateful, and lastly, to the fans. We hope you enjoyed this season as much as we did, and we can’t wait to run it back in 2025.

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

OFFICIAL: Crown Jewel Racing Finalizes Media Deal

Crown Jewel Racing Media Team announced today that they have finalized Media Deals for the 2025 Season after a change in the Cup Series Broadcasting deal couldn’t be completed.

It was announced earlier this year that FTN would be the broadcaster for the 2025 Cup Season, but after personnel changes occurred at FTN, a deal could not be reached, as concerns over securing a contract for the 2025 season began to rise for the CJR Front Office.

“We were looking forward to working with FTN, and we still look forward to working with them in the future. We understand the difficulty of securing personnel and having them available weekly for our race season, and we wish them the best and hope to work with them again in the future.”

Garth Griswold, CJR Media Director

CJR Media Team announced the signing of Wind Tunnel TV (WTTV) to broadcast all 39 Crown Jewel Cup Series Races in 2025. WTTV, owned by Mr. Dean Doucet, has over 9 years of experience in the Sim-Broadcasting Market and bleeds racing through and through. WTTV primarily streams to YouTube and Facebook and focuses on providing quality content at an affordable rate.

“We are thrilled to have WTTV on board for the 2025 Season. Mr. Doucet and WTTV will be able to provide a high-quality broadcast week in and week out that showcases the talents of the Crown Jewel Cup Series that our fans will love to watch.”

Garth Griswold, CJR Media Director

The CJR Media Team also reported that they have finalized a deal with High-Velocity TV to broadcast all 23 VRS Truck Series Races in 2025. High-Velocity TV has proven its worth numerous times by filling in for the CJR Media Team and providing high-quality content to our fans in 2024. We are extremely happy to bring them on board full-time for 2025.

For the 2025 Team Conti Sim Performance Dash Xfinity Series, spectators can expect a twist for the broadcast – welcome to the Crown Jewel Cup Series Drivers Only broadcast! Headed by current broadcasters Nathaniel Campbell and Cory Mott, fans will be treated to a rotating cast of Cup Series talents telling the stories throughout the 33-race schedule. Nobody knows the league storylines quite like the veterans and giving them the opportunity to shine on the TCSP Dash Xfinity broadcast will bring nothing but good times and great commentary for the fans of the Xfinity drivers.

Make sure to check out WTTV and HVTV Channels and give them a follow!

It will be a year to remember in 2025 at Crown Jewel Racing.

PHOENIX: SAUNDERS RECLAIMS VRS TRUCK SERIES CHAMPION CROWN

The 2024 VRS Truck Series concluded the season Monday night in the desert of Phoenix. A 4-way battle for the Championship between Zack Saunders, John Connor, Cory Mott, and Nishil Condoor was on the menu for the night to decide who would be crowned the VRS Truck Series Champion.

The Four-Driver Playoff Battle dropped to three before the green flag flew to start the race. Nishil Condoor turned some laps during practice before his truck experienced mechanical failure at the worst time of the year. His pit crew could not get the car going before the start of the race, and we were down to a three-way battle for the Championship.

Pete Morales would capture the pole, with Josh Stoltz starting on the outside in the first row. John Connor would qualify fifth and was looking to keep his hot streak on fire. He hasn’t finished outside the Top 5 in the playoffs and was hoping to claim the title from defending VRS Truck Series Champion Zack Saunders, who qualified third. Cory Mott would try to play it safe and start in the back from 14th, but he wouldn’t stay in the back for long. 150 laps in the desert was all that stood in the way of crowning a champion.

Morales led the field to the green flag, and the racing got aggressive right from the start. The field took off, and before Morales could get out of Turn 2, he was fighting for third as Zack Saunders would take the lead before Morales and Stoltz would make contact, and they would both spin into 3 Turn 3 for the first of caution of the night.

A second Caution came out after the restart on Lap 10, and we finally saw some green flag laps as John Connor took the lead from Saunders. CJR Race Control Officials would issue another caution on Lap 16 for debris on the track, and when it went back green on Lap 20, the field would stay green until Noah Spaulding caused the caution to fly to end the stage early on Lap 40.

At the end of Stage 1, all three playoff drivers were 1-2-3 at the top of the standings, with Connor taking 1st, Saunders in 2nd, and Mott taking 3rd. Connor did his best to hold on to the two-tenths lead when the caution flew, protecting him from a charging Saunders. Connor and Saunders would keep the racing going on pit road, but CJR Officials would catch both of them speeding and send them to the back. CJR Officials would also catch Cameron Albertson with a choose cone violation before the restart to send him to the back, and Henry Kallhoff would take the lead as the green flag flew to begin Stage 2.

Kallhoff retained that lead through two cautions in Stage 2 and relinquished it to John Connor on Lap 82. It only took 37 laps to get back to the front to win Stage 2 at the end of Lap 90. It appeared Connor was determined to win this Championship, winning the race’s first two stages. He would have to defend off Saunders for the final 60 laps of the race, who finished second. Mott would fall back and finish fifth in Stage 2.

Carnage would strike on Lap 97 in Stage 2 as newcomer Noah Hunt would hit the wall out of Turn 2 and make contact with Garth Griswold, and the accordion effect would follow into Pete Morales. Morales would do his best to save it but would come into the path of Joe Wright, he would follow in his long lost ancestors, the Wright Brothers, and take flight in his Ford F150. Jim Mott, who slowed to miss the carnage, would get sent head-first into Griswold when Teagen Fox failed to break sufficiently, sending Mott and Griswold to the grave. Wright was able to repair his F150 Stealth Fighter Aircraft to get back in the race but would be -10 laps down.

Saunders took the lead back from Matthew Owens after the restart and retained it through the last two cautions of the race. Saunders, who had his Final 4 Playoff eligibility revoked in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series, was determined to defend his title and win the VRS Truck Series championship. Connor was doing his best to stay with Saunders, but with the green flag racing, Saunders would run away with it. Saunders would win by a 3-second margin and claim the 2024 VRS Truck Series Championship.

Congratulations to Zack Saunders and all drivers this season on a job well done and memorable season in Crown Jewel.

The Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series will race tonight at 8:15 EST to determine the BHXS Champion. On Wednesday, it will be Championship Night in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series. Tune into the Crown Jewel Racing Network to catch all the action in the season finales.

Season Winding Down and Playoff Battles Cranking Up In CJR

With three weeks remaining in the 2024 Crown Jewel Racing Season, the season may be winding down, but the playoff battles are heating up. Cory Mott locked himself into a chance to fight for a Championship in Phoenix in the VRS Truck Series while a non-playoff driver, Matt White, captured a win in the TCSP Cup Series. Let us dive in and recap a week of the exciting racing in the CJR League.

ARCA

Stewart Harding Walker has now won back-to-back weeks in the ARCA Series, winning at the Track Too Tough To Tame last week and winning again last night at the Milwaukee Mile. Jim Mott is still holding on to a commanding lead in the ARCA Series Season Standings and Bob Baker is trying his best to capture second place from missing ARCA Driver Thomas Villano.

VRS Truck Series

The VRS Truck Series kicked off the Round of 8 at Auto Club Speedway. Cory Mott was able to avoid the carnage right behind him on the final lap and take the checkered flag for the win. Mott is the first driver to lock himself into the Round of 4 and the opportunity to win the VRS Truck Series Championship in Phoenix. The VRS Truck Series will be back in action tonight at 8:30 EST at Homestead, and you can catch all the action on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.

Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series

The Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series and the TCSP traveled to Fabulous Las Vegas last week. Zack Saunders would take first place in the season standings with his win over Brian Messer last week. Tyler Belanger, Jacob Fifield, and Stewart Harding Walker hope to shake those standings up tomorrow night at Homestead.

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series

Newcomer on the block Matt White took the checkered flag to stop Stephen Menke from locking himself into the Round of 4. Thomas Wolfe still maintains the top spot with +41 to the good. Menke, Cory Mott, and Nic Vasquez are still within torpedo range of the cutline drivers of Vince Mitchell, Zack Saunders, and Zach Johnson. Cody Leach, who has declared he will not be able to race in Martinsville next week due to Sponsorship obligations that could not be resolved, will almost certainly need to win on Wednesday night to keep his playoff hopes alive.

The only Incident Points assigned last week occured on Lap 163 when Nishil Condoor lost control and came up the track collecting Justin Bell, Garth Griswold, and Playoff Driver Stephen Menke.

Homestead will bring the excitement this week, so make sure everyone tunes into all the exciting action this week in the Crown Jewel Racing League.

CROWN JEWEL RACING WEEK IN REVIEW

By: Garth Griswold, CJR Media Team

Drivers in the TCSP Cup Series and VRS Truck Series Playoffs showcased their unwavering determination this week. Despite early mistakes, Cory Mott’s victory in the Truck Series and the triumphant performances of Thomas Wolfe and Jacob Fifield in the Cup and Xfinity Series proved that perseverance can overcome any odds.

VRS Truck Series

The VRS Truck Series race at the Auto Club Speedway was thrilling. The expansive two-mile track, illuminated by the stars and lights, set the stage for a fast-paced battle. The leaders, pushing hard to stay at the front, created an intense race that took several front runners out on Lap 14.

Connor Wold would get to the front and win Stages 1 and 2 before Playoff driver Cory Mott would get to the front in the final stage. Mott would survive the multiple green-white-checkered finishes to win at Auto Club Speedway and has locked himself into the Round of 4.

Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series

The Xfinity Series traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway to take on the Roval road course. Jacob Fifield’s early mistake at the start allowed Stewart Harding Walker to win Stage 1 by .347 of a gap to Fifield. Saunders would take the lead for 9 Laps during Stage 2 from Walker before Fifield would return to the front and win Stage 2. Saunders and Fifield battled early in the final stage before Fifield ran away with it to win by a 38-second margin for back-to-back wins in Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series.

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series

Wednesday night at the Roval tested resilience in the TCSP Cup Series Playoffs. Despite being outside looking in, Caleb Tipton, Ben Lawson, Steven Carlile, and Cory Mott refused to give up. The race, which went green through the first stage, saw all 12 playoff drivers finishing 1-12th when the green and white checkered flag waved on Lap 20. Thomas Wolfe’s win in the first stage further intensified the competition, with Ben Lawson and Steven Carlile’s Top 5 finishes in Stage 1 adding to the drama.

After the carnage was cleaned, the field returned to green, but cars started dropping like flies. Within a span of 2 laps, six cars would get black-flagged for damage. Stephen Menke’s engine would blow on Lap 29, but lucky for him, he had accumulated a significant gap in playoff points that would remain above the cutline. This threshold determines which drivers advance to the next Round of the playoffs. Vince Mitchell and Nathaniel Campbell would get involved in an incident on lap 30, which would put them laps down, something neither of them needed as they tried to stay above the cutline.

Steven Carlile refused to give up after losing power for a moment during Hurricane Milton while racing at Talladega would put his playoff dreams on the chopping block. Carlile would start the race -18 points under the cutline, but a Stage 2 win would give him life and the chance to keep his playoff dreams alive.

Carlile would lead the first few laps of the final stage before Thomas Wolfe would make his way back to the front. Wolfe would run away with it to win the race with a 28-second margin to extend his lead even further heading into the Round of 8. Carlile would finish in 3rd and get a total of 51 points for the race, but it wasn’t enough to keep the playoff hopes alive, and he would be eliminated, finishing 2 points under the cutline. Nathaniel Campbell’s playoff dreams would end by finishing 3 points back after the incident with Vince Mitchell on Lap 30.

Vince Mitchell would advance to the Round of 8, keeping his playoff dreams alive and securing the final spot. Palmetto Motorsports team owner and driver Cory Mott would take Campbell’s playoff spot to advance. Carlile, Campbell, Lawson, and Tipton’s playoff run would end at the Roval.

Next Week in the CJR

Next week in CJR League, the ARCA Series takes on the Monster Mile at Darlington Raceway on Sunday Night. The VRS Truck Series is off Monday night before resuming Round of 8 playoff action on October 28 at Homestead Speedway. The Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series and Team Conti Sim Performance Series will travel to Fabulous Las Vegas to tackle the mile-and-a-half oval. Tune into the Crown Jewel Racing Network next week to see who can beat the odds and win in Sin City.

TALLADEGA: BIG WRECKS AND PHOTO FINISHES THIS WEEK IN THE CROWN JEWEL

The Crown Jewel Racing League bump drafted its way to the high banks of Talladega this week for some SuperSpeedway Racing. The VRS Truck Series kicked off the action on Monday Night, followed by Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series on Tuesday Night, and the week concluded with the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series on Wednesday Night.

VRS Truck Series

Garth Griswold, CJR Media Team


It was elimination week in the VRS Truck Series Playoffs, and after last week’s win at Kansas Speedway, John Connor was still feeling the high heading to Talladega. Pete Morales would capture the pole with a time of 54.485, and Nishil Condoor would qualify second with a time of 54.491. Condoor, who missed the race in Kansas, needed a good start and a good finish this week to stay above the cutline.
It was green flag racing through most of the stage until Lap 16, when an incident occurred between Vince Mitchell and Ryan Taft on the background stretch. Taft received a poorly executed bump draft from Mitchell, causing Taft to get loose out of line and come back across Mitchell’s nose. When the field went back green, it was a photo finish at the line, and the stage win would go to Vince Mitchell after CJR Officials reviewed the photo finish.

Jim Mott, fighting for the final playoff spot with Condoor, would get his playoff dreams crushed on Lap 35. Mott, getting drafted from Nate Cadotte, would get too much of a bump on the right side, sending Mott down the track. Eventually, Mott would return and get Cadotte airborne for a second. CJR officials announced post-race that Cadotte would be issued three penalty points for the incident. Connor would go on to win Stage 2, leading the last lap of the stage.


There were a few incidents during the final stage, with the big wreck happening in turn four on the final lap. Saunders got a bump from behind, sending him up the track and into chaos. Connor kept the run at the front and got to the line first to win back-to-back weeks in the VRS Truck Series.
The Round of 8 is set. Saunders, Connor, Morales, Henry Kallhoff, Cory Mott, Matthew Owens, Garth Griswold, and Condoor will move on to fight for the Final Four spots in the playoffs over the next three weeks. Jim Mott, Thomas Villano, Cody Porter, and Johnny Avila were eliminated in the Round of 12.
The VRS Truck Series is back in action next Monday night at Auto Club Speedway to begin the Round of 8 Playoff battle.

Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series

Noah Hamilton, CJR Media Team

The second race of the weekend marked the fourth event of the Xfinity season. In the #45 Chevrolet, Noah Hamilton stunned the field by capturing the pole and leading them to the green flag. The first stage saw frequent lead changes, with John Connor ultimately taking the stage win. However, chaos soon followed when “the big one” struck after an early caution, collecting several competitive cars from the front and back of the pack. Among those caught up was #8 Joe Gibbons, who was cleared from the infield care center but saw his race cut short.


Stage two was full of action, too. A second caution flew on lap 36, ending Ryan Taft’s night in the #86. As stage two wound down, yet another wreck occurred, but Tyler Belanger in the #88 held on, claiming the stage win.


The final stage stayed relatively calm until lap 93, when an unfortunate net code incident between Zach Saunders and Noah Hamilton caused a major wreck, sidelining more top contenders. The race ultimately finished with a green-white-checkered finish, with Jacob Fifield in the #92 leading the field to the checkered flag. Fifield had been a force up front throughout the race, making key moves early in the final stage to secure the win.

Team Conti Cup Series

Garth Griswold, CJR Media Team

The second of three races of the Round of 12 in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series Playoff shook the playoff standings between Hurricane Milton making landfall just south of Talladega and avoiding the big wrecks at Talladega. The Playoff Drivers and the rest of the field had the work cut out for them.
Hurricane Milton hindered Playoff Drivers Caleb Tipton and Steven Carlile at a critical point in the season. Tipton lost power before the race began and could not make the race for Daytona. Carlile, who wasn’t racing from his normal Ethix’s Headquarters, would win the pole to lead the flag to green. But Carlile would lose power for a second early in the race, which caused him to go laps down, something he could never recover from.


The first caution came out on Lap 4 when Stewart Harding Walker traveled up the track into Cameron Romano. Romano held his ground, and Walker would lose control, collecting Tommy Carroll Jr. Walker rebounded up into the wall, collecting Tyler Belanger to end Belanger’s night early.

The first big shake-up in the playoffs occurred on Lap 19, when Playoff Driver Ben Lawson pushed his team, Stephen Menke, a bit too long before Lawson’s Dark Horse engine said “sayonara.” Lawson would finish in the 29th position and is now in a must-win situation heading into the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.


The first stage would come to an abrupt two laps early on Lap 23 when Playoff Driver Cody Leach would try to get in front of the high line a bit too late. This would cause John Connor and Ryan Taft to check up, leading to Taft taking a spin and collecting several other drivers in the incident. Stephen Menke would get the stage win and the much-needed playoff points to keep him well above the cutline.


The second stage would stay green until Lap 38 when “The Big One” struck. Jacob Abreu would come in hot and give Cody Leach a big smooch on his left rear, and the carnage would unfold for all the drivers behind them. This wreck ended the night for the Hollywood Motorsport Drivers Allen Phillips and Garth Griswold. Thomas Wolfe would also sustain damage, and CJR officials would deem him out of the race due to the damaged vehicle policy. Luckily for Wolfe, he is already locked into the next Round with last week’s win at Kansas.


Stage 2 would come to an end on Lap 50 with an exciting photo finish between Menke and Vince Mitchell, with Mitchell getting the win after review,

Green, White, Checkered x 3

Fuel Strategy never really came into play this week, with a few cautions throughout the final stage. But the racing got even more exciting when a caution came out with two to go for a one-car incident on the backstretch. The field would get racked and restacked for the first try at a green-white-checkered finish, but the field wouldn’t return before another caution would come out for a minor three-car incident. CJR Officials would rack them and stack them again.
Zack Johnson would get a good jump off the line, with Condoor pushing him down the backstretch. The inside line was nowhere to be found. Johnson would be 100 yards from that white flag, but Barney grabbed the yellow flag for another incident in the back. We would have to try a third time to finish this race.


Johnson and Saunders would go side by side to take the green flag on the third green-white-checkered. Johnson and Saunders would fire off together, but the outside line behind Johnson would come roaring to life down the backstretch. Saunders would fall back to tenth as most of the outside line passed. The field would make it back around, and finally, the white flag would wave for one lap to go.

Wins by a Quarter Panel

Johnson would stay out front through turns one and two, getting pushed by John Connor. Connor would go low out of Turn 4 to block the inside run of Mark Roettgen, nearly causing an incident but causing a check-up. Joe Wright and Saunders would move to the outside, coming out of four and having a huge run. It appeared that Saunders would push Joe Wright to the win, but he would move outside, leaving a little hole for Nathaniel Campbell to get his nose in. Saunders would try to come back down and spin around Campbell’s nose into Wright as they spun across the line.


It was a photo finish for history books, both Wright and Saunders sideways at the line, but Saunders’s rear quarter panel crossed the checkered line first for the win. Saunders locks himself into the Round of 8 with the victory joining his teammate Thomas Wolfe.

Next Week Will Be Wild

Team Conti Cup Series will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, next week to take on the road course Roval. Road courses always bring exciting racing, but let’s sprinkle some sprinkles on top because it’s also elimination week in the Round of 12.
Both Caleb Tipton and Ben Lawson will need a win to advance. Steven Carlile will need a strong finish with some good stage points mixed in to try and climb out of his hole of being -18 points back from the cutline. Cory Mott, the Regular Season Champion, is currently out. Mott sits one end under the cutline behind his Palmetto Motorsports teammate Zack Johnson. Nathaniel Campbell, Vince Mitchell, and Cody Leach will need solid days at the Roval to maintain their spots, while Nic Vasquez and Stephen Menke need a decent finish to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Suspensions

CJR Officials had a shake-up this week, and Competition Director Gordon Fraley resigned from his position. CJR Officials have hinted recently that the penalty system will get another rework this season to alleviate the harsh penalties during the race. CJR is expected to make an announcement on that in the coming weeks.
CJR Officials announced today that Stewart Harding Walker had been placed on a one-race suspension in the Team Conti Cup Series for reaching the incident point threshold. Walker was deemed at fault for incidents at Watkins Glen, Bristol, Kansas, and this past week at Talladega. CJR Officials said they are still reviewing the races this week and will post an updated penalty report in the near future.

BRISTOL: THE WORLD’S FASTEST HALF-MILE BROUGHT THE ACTION WITH 3 NIGHTS OF RACING

The Crown Jewel Racing league travelled to the Last Great Colosseum for three exciting nights of high speed short track racing this week. With the First Round of the VRS Truck Series Playoffs taking place Monday night it would set the tone for the opening race of the week. The Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series brought the action on Tuesday night for the second race in the series followed up by the final race of the Round of 16 in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series Playoff on Wednesday Night.

VRS TRUCK SERIES

The first Round of the VRS Truck Series Playoffs kicked off on Monday Night with the #97 John Connor dominating the race. Connor would lead 194 laps of the 200-lap race, winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2, with the #91 Zack Saunders finishing second. Connor led all 55 laps in Stage 1 and would allow the #57 Michael Deitch to lead 4 Laps in Stage 2 before leading the rest of the 51 laps. Zaunders was lurking and waited until two to make his move on the outside, take the lead in the final two laps, and take the first win in the playoffs. The #95 Pete Morales would also get around Connor with two laps to take second, and the dominant Connor would finish third. In the post-race interview, Connor had this to say about race.

“We had a great run; I just used my tires up a bit too much earlier before the caution would come out, and I didn’t have enough to hold Saunders off on the outside at the end. But a great playoff point weekend for me, and Saunders ran a great race and a good win by him.”

John Connor, #97, Chevrolet

Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series

The second race in Bob Henry’s Xfinity Series ran on Tuesday night, and fans were excited to watch this series complete 300 laps of short-track racing. Saunders would again perform strongly, taking the pole and leading every Lap in Stage 1. The fireworks went off early in the race when #9 Gordon Fraley and #20 Jim Mott made contact, causing Mott to flip upside down and go for a wild ride. Mott and Gordon would receive care from the infield care center and be cleared.

#26 Caleb Sheets would lead the first four laps in Stage 2 before Saunders would retake the lead and lead the rest of the 84 laps, picking up back-to-back stage wins for the night. It seemed as if Saunders would win back-to-back races going into the final stage, but #1 Zach Johnson, who had finished second in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2, was ready to make his move.

Johnson made that move, captured the lead on Lap 225, and ran away. Johnson finished the night as the only car on the lead Lap. #71 Michael Deitch took second place with a strong showing, winning stage points in both stages. Sheets took third, giving the TCSP Cup Series a heads-up that he knows how to run the high banks of Bristol.

Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series

The Final Round of the TCSP Cup Series Round of 16 got off to a wild start, with a big shake-up in the playoffs standings right from the beginning. The carnage would occur on Lap 11 when the #54 Jacob Abreu would spin going into Turn 3. Watch the carnage unfold below.

The #6 Stephen Menke and #24 Noah Hamilton’s race would end before it started. The #5 Allen Phillips night would also end in this incident, as CJR Officials shut him down in the garage due to the damaged vehicle policy. This was detrimental for Phillips, who would end up falling below the cutline from 8th to 13th, eliminating him from the playoffs. The #00 of Garth Griswold wouldn’t make contact with any cars but couldn’t keep ahold of his car and took a trip into the wall. Griswold would go 8 Laps down, and his playoff hopes faded into darkness. A tough start for Hollywood Motorsports.

The #1 Cory Mott would win Stage 1, with Nishil Condoor taking second and Caleb Tipton taking third. Tipton would take the lead into Stage 2 and would lead for 40 laps before the #7 Steven Carlile would take the lead for 84 Laps and win Stage 2. Carlile, who was already locked into the Round of 12, continues to perform at a high level in the postseason.


The #97 John Connor would finally get to the front and lead for 192 laps in the final stage. Connor picked up where he left off on Monday night in the Truck Series and hoped to change the result for the win. However, Connor couldn’t hold onto the lead until the finish, as Nathaniel Campbell would take the lead on Lap 448. Sitting -1 point back below the cutline, Campbell needed an excellent race to ensure he sees a spot in the Round of 12.


Campbell would only retain that lead for two laps before the #74 Caleb Sheets would capture the lead. Sheets would hold onto that lead and try to survive the late race cautions that would come out, leading to a green-white-checkered overtime finish. Sheets would get a good start getting pushed from behind by Cory Mott. Mott would duck low into one and two as Sheets stayed high and kept the speed out of two to hold onto the lead going down the backstretch. Mott would remain in the low line as he and Sheets would make contact on the front stretch, allowing Sheets to pull away and head into the final Lap.

Campbell would stay on Sheets bumper, get around Mott in the final turn, and edge out Mott by a nose at the line to take second place. Sheets showed his hand during the Xfinity Series and came away with his first win in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series.


The TCSP Cup Series Playoffs will move on to the Round of 12 next week at Kansas. The drivers eliminated were #38 Zander Short, #56 Tommy Carroll Jr., #00 Garth Griswold, and #5 Allen Phillips. You can now check out all the racing results and playoff standings on the CJRacing Webpage.
The CJR ARCA Series was off this week and will be in Dover on Sunday night for the General Tire 125. The rest of the Crown Jewel Series will be back in action at Kansas Speedway next week for more high-intensity playoff action.

WATKINS GLEN: SAUNDERS WINS, TENSIONS RISE WITH ONE RACE TO GO IN THE ROUND OF 16

Zack Saunders avoided an early disaster in Wednesday’s Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series race at Watkins Glen to recover and overtake Thomas Wolfe in the final Stage to win and secure his spot in the Round of 12. With the final race in the Round of 16 next week, tensions have reached an all-time high going into the Last Great Colosseum at Bristol.

The #69 Caleb Tipton would drop two spots, and Zach Johnson would fall one place with the early wreck they were involved in on Lap 2. Johnson would recover and salvage a Top 10 Finish, but Tipton would go 11 laps down and finish in 17th.

Uber vs Hollywood

Vince Mitchell would climb up and off the cutline with his 12th Place finish, sitting at +6 in front of Tipton. Nathaniel Campbell and Garth Griswold of Hollywood Motorsports are the two drivers who desperately need a solid finish this week to make the Round of 12. Sitting just one point back from Tipton, Campbell had a mechanical failure at Bristol in the Spring and is looking to improve on that finish next week to get him locked into the next Round. Tipton, who was also involved in a wreck at Bristol in the Spring, is also looking to avoid disaster again and improve on his 35th-place finish.

Not in the Clear

But Uber and Hollywood are not the only ones battling it out next week. We have five drivers within 14 points of the cutline. Palmetto Motorsports Drivers Cory Mott and Zach Johnson are in ninth and tenth position, respectively, and Hollywood Motorsport’s third driver, Allen Phillips, is in eighth with a +14-point margin.

It’s Bristol, Baby! Carnage can happen anywhere and anytime on this fast, short track. Early carnage could be detrimental to the fourth through seventh-place drivers. Steven Carlile, who is sitting in third with a +50 point margin, is safe, but he is the only one at the top who should feel comfortable. Stephen Menke, who was involved in an accident during Stage 2 of the Spring Race, will be looking not to get involved early on Wednesday as it could spell disaster for the Factory Motorsports Owner.

Factory Motorsports

Factory Motorsports should be proud of their playoff run so far. With their drivers sitting in 4th, 5th, and 6th in the standings, it will take a nuclear disaster for them not to have at least two drivers advance into the Round of 12. They haven’t let the disappearance of Zander Short affect their performance so far.

Do You Believe in Miracles

Joining Short at the bottom of the standings is Moonshine Motorsports Driver Tommy Carroll Jr., who didn’t make the race last week at Watkins Glen. Currently sitting -35 points back from the cutline, he will need to improve on his fourth-place finish in the spring to make the giant leap above the cutline, shake up the standings, and advance to the Round of 12.

The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series will drive 500 laps on Wednesday night. Seeing the checkered flag fly takes the driver’s focus, effort, and grit. Who will make their name known Wednesday night and advance to the Round of 12? Tune into the Crown Jewel Racing Network to find out!

ATLANTA: WOLFE WINS, LOCKING HIM INTO THE ROUND OF 12

The Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Wednesday night to open the first Round of the Playoffs. The Jr. Superspeedway track brought excitement in the first Round, with wild moments lasting all 163 laps; the final lap would come down to a photo finish at the line.

Quick Race Stats

  • Atlanta Motor Speedway
  • Weather: 77 Degrees, Mostly Cloudy Skies, Wind SW @ 2 mph
  • Race Length: 250 Miles, Stages: 40-80-163
  • Race Time: 1hr 39mins
  • Cautions: 6-16 Laps
  • Lead Changes: 16
    • Thomas Wolfe: 74 Laps
    • Ben Lawson: 52 Laps
    • Zack Saunders: 10 Laps
    • Caleb Tipton: 10 Laps
    • Stephen Menke: 6 Laps
    • Zach Johnson: 4 Laps
    • Steven Carlile: 3 Laps
    • Cody Leach: 3 Laps
    • Nic Vasquez: 1 Lap

The #3 Ben Lawson claimed the pole position in a fiercely competitive qualifying round, narrowly edging out Uber Motorsports driver the #96 Vince Mitchell. The closeness of the qualifying times, with the pole position to the fifteenth position staying within a tenth of a second of each other, set the Stage for a race where every second would count.

Lawson led the field to a green flag, but the race took an unexpected turn when Mitchell, in his eagerness, jumped the gun and beat the green flag. This premature start led to a series of unfortunate events for Mitchell, including a drive-through penalty and a speeding violation, turning his hopeful start into a challenging race.

Lawson would lead all 40 laps, and the Stage would run green the entire Stage even though a controversial accident occurred on Lap 25 with playoff points leader Cory Mott getting turned after Joe Wright would get loose coming out of Turn 2. Mott wasn’t the only one heated about the incident; fans were booing CJR Officials for not throwing the caution for the incident.

“By the time we noticed the incident had occurred, Mott was already off the racing surface, and the damage he had sustained was race-ending. It’s an unfortunate incident so early in the race, but we stand by our decision to let the drivers keep racing.” Said an anonymous CJR Official who did not have the authority to speak on the matter.

STAGE 1 Results

STAGE 2


Cody Leach would take the lead off pit road and lead the field back to green for Stage 2. Stage 2 would also run green from start to finish, with multiple lead changes occurring down the stretch as fans were thrilled to see some green flag racing in the first Round of the playoffs. Thomas Wolfe would start to show that he was a contender to lock himself into the Round of 12 by leading the most laps in Stage 2, working with his teammate Zack Saunders. Saunders would lead the final lap of the Stage to capture the stage win at Lap 80.


STAGE 2 Results

Racing Heats Up in Final Stage


The final Stage would show that the drivers were done being patient and didn’t want the packs to split again like they had in the previous stages. Steven Carlile would have the lead to start Stage 3 and would lead three laps before Thomas Wolfe would recapture the lead on Lap 86. The race’s first caution would come out on Lap 90 when the outside line would get checked up. That check-up would be felt back to the midpack, where the #00 Garth Griswold would clip the outside wall, enter the trioval, and get bumped from behind by the #66 Ray Gill. Griswold would spin to the infield grass, and the rest of the field avoided the disaster. Griswold and Gill would get an EOL and moved to the back for the incident.

The following incident occurred on Lap 101 when Cody Leach and Nishil Condoor battled through the tri-oval. Leach made contact with Condoor, causing Leach to get loose and make contact with Stephen Menke. Menke and Leach went sliding through the infield grass. Neither sustained any severe damage, but the caution flag flew, and Leach and Menke were sent to the back for the incident.

The 5th caution of the night would come out on Lap 118. This time, the inside row had an extensive check-up, and the midpack would again pay the price for it. Tommy Carroll Jr. would get the short end of the stick when he would get sandwiched between Nic Vasquez’s rear bumper and Mason Hoeffner’s front end. Carroll Jr. would go into the outside wall and collect the #16 Nathaniel Campbell and Griswold when coming off the wall.

Wolfe would take the lead on Lap 123 and would retain that lead until the final caution would come out on Lap 148 when the #86 Ryan Taft would hit the outside wall out of the tri-oval, and the wall wins that battle 100% of the time as Taft would bounce off of it and collect Leach sending him spinning into the wall. Leach would head to the garage, and that playoff drivers night was over.

Wolfe decided to stay out and hold onto the lead during the caution and would lead the field back to green with 12 laps to go. Vasquez would be battling Wolfe for the lead but would lose the battle when he had to yield to Taft coming back onto the racing surface as he would stick to the low line, causing Vasquez to break his line up by moving to the middle line to miss him. Tipton, who was pushing Wolfe, would drift high, allowing Wolfe’s teammate Zack Saunders to slide underneath for position. Saunders would glue his front bumper to Wolfe to keep him out front.

The Race to the Line


The inside line, led by Nic Vasquez, tried their best to get to the front but was unable to get it working. Coming to the line with two to go, it disintegrated, causing the midpack to pay the price once again as Tipton would get sent into the wall in the tri-oval.


Saunders and Wolfe stayed together as the #5 Allen Phillips took his chance coming to the white flag and tried to complete the run off the bottom, but he didn’t have enough help to get around the BBR boys. Phillips was left out to dry and fell back to 7th before the #3 Lawson turned down into Phillips, causing the big wreck on the final lap.

As the rest of the field dealt with the mayhem behind them, Joe Wright would have the run heading into Turn 3 and get outside of Saunders. Wolfe would slide up in front of Wright, but Wright’s run was too good to be slowed down with that as Wright would move to the inside. They would go almost door to door entering the tri-oval, but Wright’s run would lose the pace as Steven Carlile would make contact with Wright’s left quarter panel, making Wright get a bit squirrely at the line. Wolfe’s nose would inch across first with a margin of 0.015.

“I had 70-lap old tires, and I wouldn’t have been able to win that if it wasn’t for Saunders pushing me at the end.”

#94 Thomas Wolfe, BBR, Chevrolet

“This was a statement finish for WRL, giving us more knowledge that we’re on the path to success. A few more results like that will set us up for a great off-season and carry that momentum into 2025.”

#37 Joe Wright, Co-Owner WRL, Ford

Playoff Update


With the win, Wolfe automatically locks himself into the Round of 12 in the Team Conti Sim Performance Cup Series Playoffs. Zack Saunders would follow behind in the point standings in 2nd place. Steven Carlile is in 3rd in front of almost the entire Factory Motorsports Team, with Team Owner Stephen Menke sitting in 4th, Vasquez 5th, and Lawson in 6th. The other member of their team, Zander Short, did not make it to the race and sits below the cutline with two races to go.

“I am not sure what’s going on with Zander. We lost communication with his hauler after Daytona and haven’t heard from him. The only silver lining is that he had accumulated a decent amount of playoff points, and with that, he could still make it above the cutline if he makes the next two races.”

#6 Stephen Menke, Owner of Factory Motorsports, Ford

Ben Lawson was the week’s biggest mover, moving from 15th place to 6th with his stage win and 7th-placed finish. Regular Season Champion Cory Mott would fall back to 8th place with his early race departure after his wreck on Lap 25.

With two races left in the Round of 16, Vince Mitchell, Griswold, Carroll Jr., and Short sit below the cutline. The TCSP Cup Series will go bowling at The Glen on Wednesday night. Please tune in to see who can leave their mark on the road course and bowl the perfect race for a win on the Crown Jewel Racing Network.

Garth Griswold

NASHVILLE: AVILA CONTINUES STREAK AND WINS THE BRING IT BACK! 200

Johnny Avila would continue his domination of the VRS Truck Series on Monday Night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Avila won five out of the six races he had competed in, and he finished second to Cody Porter the first time he didn’t win.

RACE RECAP

Early in the race, there were some glimmers of hope that someone was finally going to knock the king off the throne, but the carnage left by multiple incidents early in the race would take its toll. Drivers like Cory Mott and Tyler Belanger were taken out of contention from the damage endured. Zack Saunders, who would go on to win the first stage, would resign from the race after the 12th caution of the night after Stage 2.


Matthew Owens, who had been running up front most of the night and finished 4th in Stage 1 and 3rd in Stage 2, would try his best to catch up to Avila in the final stage. After suffering through 12 cautions in the first two stages, the field could finally run green with only one caution coming out in the final hundred laps of the race. Owens would try his best but could not keep pace with Avila, who would run off in the moonlight for his 5th race win.


The playoff field is officially set, with no changes from last week. Factory Motorsports Driver Stephen Menke decided on Tuesday that he would relinquish his playoff position to Thomas Villano. Villano, who has been suspended for the last 30 days, will return after the week off next week to make a run in the playoffs.


The VRS Truck Series will return on September 23rd at Bristol Motor Speedway to tackle the high-banked short track in the first round of the playoffs. Short-track racing hasn’t been the best this year in the VRS Truck Series, but that should only make the first round of the playoffs more thrilling.